There are thousands of new medical apps released each year. And every year, the physician editors at iMedicalApps sort through the year’s new crop of apps and pick the best new medical apps. This year, we picked a group of medical apps that were innovative, filled important needs, and offered really valuable resources. And somewhat surprisingly, the majority of them were free.

We’ve all been called about a patient with a drug overdose of some kind – too much dilaudid, atenolol in a hospitalized patient with renal dysfunction, or a patient showing up to the ED after ingesting something — let’s say pesticides. You may remember that Narcan is the antidote of narcotic overdose, glucagon for beta blockers, and atropine for organophosphate poisoning. But what about the initial dose, frequency, and follow up? That’s where the ACEP Toxicology Section Antidote app can help. This fantastic free app from the American College of Emergency Physicians packs a ton of critical information into a really easy-to-use, well-designed app. Oh — and did we mention it’s free?

Do you find yourself eating more after a workout, either because you are truly hungry or feel like you "earned it"? You're not alone. Watch this video to find out how to not to sabotage your hard work at the gym.
Source: Health bests

When you want to shed serious weight, walking might not even come to mind. But it should.

"Fast-paced walking, when combined with healthy eating, is hugely effective for weight loss," says Art Weltman, PhD, director of exercise physiology at the University of Virginia. And those simple steps can have a big impact on your overall health, cutting your risk of everything from heart disease to depression. If your daily strolls haven't made you skinny so far, your speed may be the problem. Many of us stride more like a window-shopper than a power walker. The goalthankfullyisn't crazy race-walker style; you just need to move at a challenging pace.

In studies, Weltman has found that women who do three short (about 30-minute) high-intensity walks plus two moderately paced recovery walks a week lose up to six times more abdominal fat than participants who simply stroll five days a week. (This despite the fact that both groups burn the exact same number of calories.)

The power walkers also drop about four times as much total body fat. "There is a strong relationship between intensity of exercise and fat-burning hormones," says Weltman. "So if you're exercising at a pace considered to be hard, you're likely to release more of these hormones." The best part: When women walk, deep abdominal fat is the first to go. That's a scientific fact we can get excited about.

[brightcove:4802228131001 default]

Another happy truth: Although you're moving at a fast clip, power walking is still easier on the joints than running. "During walking one of your feet is always in contact with the ground," says Weltman, "but during running there's a float stage where your whole body is lifted in the air. Then you come back down and subject your body to the impact."

That's why walking is a smart long-term fitness plan. To get you off on the right foot, here's a complete primer, from how to tweak your speed for maximum burn to what gear you need (hint: almost none). Follow the workouts and wisdom along with healthy eating and not only can you lose those extra 10 pounds in three weeks, but you will have a no-fuss plan that you can do anywhere, anytime.

Dial in your speed

To make sure your pace is on point, use these guidelines from exercise physiologist Tom Holland, author of Beat the Gym. For maximum fat burn, aim for 30 minutes at power-walk intensity three days a week (see the walking plan on the next page). That time can be completed all at once, or you can break it up into spurts with recovery strides (stroll or brisk walk) in between.

Stroll. Think window-shopping pace, or an intensity of 4 on a scale of 10. It burns about 238 calories an hour.

Brisk walk. This means an effort of 5 or 6 on a scale of 10. It burns up to 340 calories an hour (at a 3.5 to 4 mph pace). While you can gossip about Mad Men, you need to catch your breath every few sentences.

Power walk. You're torching off approximately 564 calories an hour (at a 4 to 5 mph pace). Moving at this clip, using your arms to help propel you forward and taking longer strides, your effort should be a 7 or 8 on a scale of 10. Talking is possible only in spurts of three or four words, but…you'd…rather…focus…on…breathing.

The amped-up plan

This program from Holland mixes a regular walking workout with interval routines to help you reach your power-walking quota of 30 minutes, three times a week. Aim to walk on three nonconsecutive days and either rest or cross-train on the other ones. If you cross-train (think power yoga or swimming), you'll help your body recover; and with our diet, you'll progress more quickly to dropping up to 10 pounds in three weeks.

Tempo day
Burns about 220 calories:

Warm-up: Stroll for 5 minutes.

Workout: Maintain a power-walk intensity for 30 minutes.

Cooldown: Stroll for 3 to 5 minutes.

Long-interval day
Burns about 355 calories:

Warm-up: Stroll for 5 minutes.

Interval Workout: Maintain a hard power-walk intensity (8 on a scale of 10) for 5 minutes. Recover at a brisk pace for 1 minute. Repeat for a total of 6 intervals.

Cooldown: Stroll for 3 to 5 minutes.

Short-interval day
Burns about 405 calories:

Warm-up: Stroll for 5 minutes.

Interval Workout: Maintain a hard power-walk intensity (8 on a scale of 10) for 2 minutes. Recover at a brisk pace for 1 minute. Repeat for a total of 15 intervals.

Cooldown: Stroll for 3 to 5 minutes.

Walk this way

When it comes to walking, your body and brain know what to do. Makes senseyou've been doing it since you took those first wobbly baby steps. But with these three form fixes, you'll maximize your burn, big time.

Chin up. Your gaze shouldn't be aimed at your feet, no matter how snazzy your sneakers are. Instead, focus on a point about 10 feet ahead of you. This will keep your stride longer and your neck comfortably in line with your spine.

Squeeze your glutes. Your backside literally propels you through your walk. To get the most oomphso you can go longer and fasterkeep your glutes tight. Bad visual, good strategy: Imagine squeezing a winning lottery ticket between your cheeks.

4 ways to burn more fat

So you're the impatient type? Use these tricks to up the challenge and calorie burn.

Add hills.When you hit the hills on a treadmill or in your neighborhood, you increase your calorie burn by nearly 20 percentand that's just on a 1 to 5 percent incline.

Go off-road.Head out for a light but brisk hike and you'll torch about 430 calories in just an hour. Credit the uneven terrainwhich forces you to work harder. Sub this in for one of your weekly power walks.

Make longer strides.Instead of taking more steps, "work on increasing your stride length," Weltman says. "You'll cover more ground," and that means more fat fried.

Itching to run?

Let's face it: Some of us would rather just run. But if you go from zero to Usain Bolt on your first outing, you might end up sidelined. Use this guide from Holland to transition from walking to running safely.

For the running newbie:Do this modified version of the Short-Interval Day (see "The Amped-Up Plan," left) three times a week: Run for one minute (work up to two minutes over the course of a couple of weeks), walk for one minute and repeat for a total of 15 intervals. Do this for a few weeks, then transition to the Long-Interval Day, running for five minutes and walking for one, repeating for a total of six intervals. The goal is to eventually tackle Tempo Dayrunning for 30 minutes nonstop.

For the on-and-off runner:Assuming you have some running experience under your belt, you can dive right into the Long-Interval Day plan, subbing in running for the power walks. The intervals should be challenging, and the Tempo Day run should be done at a hard but comfortable pace.

For the gym-goer: You can also use this plan to cross-train, doing the exact same routines while on the elliptical machine, rowing machine or stationary bike.

Fields of sunflowers, miles of coastline, and spectacular scenery make the Mediterranean a popular travel destination. Yet, scientists are beginning to appreciate this part of the world for an entirely different reason: its diet. Dozens of studies confirm that a Mediterranean style of eatingone that is rich in fruits, vegetables, olives, and whole grainsis not only healthful for the heart but for overall well being, too. In The Mediterranean Diet, health writer Eve Adamson and registered dietitian Marissa Cloutier join forces to detail many of the reasons why eating like they do in Greece, Italy, France, and other Mediterranean countries can be good for your long-term health and may even help you shed a few pounds in the process.

Eating and living as they do in rural areas of the Mediterranean with a strong focus on plant foods and a routinely active lifestyleis no doubt a healthful strategy. It probably can help with weight loss, too. Unfortunately, the book gives short shrift to how dieters can convert a Mediterranean diet into a weight loss regimen. It doesnt give a lot of practical details on activity, either. To be honest, the information here is organized in a haphazard way. Particularly troubling is the rampant use of Q & A format, which makes it difficult to locate information pertinent to weight loss. Nevertheless, theres much to be learned here about the Mediterranean approach to eating, which includes sources of monounsaturated fatslike olive oil, nuts, and fatty fishthat harbor heart-healthy omega-3 fats.

Basic principles:

Instead of counting calories, the idea is to approach food the way people in the Mediterranean do. Its not simply about what foods are best to eat, but how to eat. Mediterranean style means slowing down and savoring foods. As for the foods, forget gyros, high-fat cheeses, or fettuccini. Rather, the focus is on rural or peasant fare. Youll want to embrace a style of eating rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains with small amounts of seafood and healthy fats like olive oil, nuts, and avocados.

How the diet works:

Only a small portion of the book actually talks about weight loss. In that chapter, the authors offer a sample week of menus for weight loss, but dieters are encouraged to consult with dietitians or health professionals for daily caloric intake recommendations or diets tailored to their needs. The rest of the advice is broken down into four general strategies: Enjoy your food; watch portion sizes; drink lots of water; and exercise, rest, and relax.

What you can eat:

There are no food groups or appropriate portion sizes discussed in the chapter on weight loss. Included early in the book, however, are general guidelines for a Mediterranean diet. Design meals around fresh produce and whole grains, using only small amounts of high-fat animal products including meat and dairy. In addition, dieters could look to the general guidelines on how much and what kinds of foods make up a Mediterranean diet. Meat is eaten only a few times a month. Fruit is the best dessert. Olive oil is preferred, but use it carefully since its still high in calories. For folks who need precise amounts, a food pyramid lists serving sizes for a variety of food groups. One serving of vegetables, for example, is 1/2 cup, and three servings of vegetables are encouraged per day.

Does the diet take and keep weight off?

Who knows? A small study from Harvard suggests a Mediterranean-style weight loss diet, as long as it controls for calories, might be more satisfying for dieters. When researchers divided dieters into two groups, putting one group on a 1,200-calorie diet plan that was also low in fat (20% fat) and the other on a 1,200-calorie diet with more liberal Mediterranean-style amounts of fat (35% fat), the Mediterranean group was better able to keep weight off and reported feeling more satisfied with their diets. Although the book doesnt mention it, a new 5-year diet study funded by the National Institutes of Health is currently underway to test the Harvard Mediterranean regimen with a larger group of dieters. That study began in 2004.

Is the diet healthy?

What little there is of it. Theres just one week of weight loss menus with no information about how many calories the menus contain.

What do the experts say?

Kathy McManus, RD, director of nutrition at Brigham & Womans Hospital, and one of the primary researchers on the Harvard weight loss study mentioned above, finds a lot of inconsistencies. “In some ways, the book sells short the benefits of olive oil and some of the healthy foods in traditional Mediterranean diets,” McManus says. It encourages keeping fat intake to 30 percent of calories or less on most days. The true Mediterranean approach, she adds, allows for higher amounts of fat as long as its the right kind: the monounsaturated fats that keep the heart healthy. “I dont think the average dieter is going to want to read all of this, but its not complete enough for health professionals, either. Its missing a lot of the latest research on Mediterranean diets,” McManus says. Joan Kanute, MS, RD, of Sherman Hospital in Elgin, Illinois, says she wouldnt recommend the book to her patients, either, because it seems too technical for the average reader and doesnt give specific enough advice about what to eat. “It was hard to weed through. If I wasnt a dietitian, Id probably think, ‘Well, what the heck are you trying to say here? What exactly should I be eating?” Kanute asks, adding that the weight loss information is pretty minimal. “They give you a sample week of menus, but when youre done, where do you go from there?”

Who should consider the diet?

If you want to brush up on the general health benefits of Mediterranean diets, this is an OK (but certainly not the best) tome on the subject. Skip it unless you want a dietitian to serve as your interpreter. While other books about the Mediterranean lifestyle may suggest a less sensible approach to eating, this version doesnt offer enough information for the do-it-yourself dieter.

Bottom line:

There's no question that the Mediterranean diet is a healthful one, but this book misses the boat when it comes to making the diet come to life for consumers. It overwhelms with scientific details rather than practical advice.